India's NSE index swung between gains and losses on Monday, taking a pause after hitting its highest in nearly two years last week, although market heavyweight Reliance Industries Ltd surged to a more than 7-1/2-year high on continued hopes about its telecom unit.
The NSE index was not far from breaching the key 9,000 level which it last touched on March 4, 2015, although analysts have warned markets could see a phase of consolidation in the near term, especially with gross domestic product data due on Tuesday. Asian shares stayed below 19-month highs with caution setting in ahead of US President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, where he is expected to unveil some elements of his plans to cut taxes.
"Investors await key events such as Trump's speech as well as comments from Federal Reserve officials later in the week," said Anand James, chief market strategist at Geojit Financial Services. The broader NSE index was 0.24 percent lower at 8,918.2 as of 0613 GMT, after touching its highest since March 4, 2015 on Thursday. The benchmark BSE index was down 0.04 percent at 28,882.52.
Markets were closed on Friday for a domestic holiday. Banks have taken a hit following a six-session rally after the Economic Times reported that the oil ministry received several complaints over the past few weeks, claiming banks were still imposing fees on debit card transactions for fuel despite a clear instruction from the government not to do so. The NSE Bank index fell nearly 1 percent with Axis Bank down 2.7 percent and Bank of India shedding 1.6 percent. Meanwhile, Reliance Industries rose as much as 6.3 percent to its highest since May 18, 2009 after telecom unit Jio said last week it would start charging for its services in April after offering them for free for seven months. GMR Infrastructure Ltd rose as much as 7.4 percent to its highest since January 6, 2016 after the company said it had completed strategic debt restructuring of a unit, leaving its consortium of lenders with 52.4 percent stake.